We don't need no education: How to get a diploma in eight days for $399

Thousands of Florida high school seniors are graduating these days having completed four years of coursework, earning 24 credits and a 2.0 or better GPA, and passing the FCAT.

How insulted might they be at InterAmerican Christian Academy, a Miami-Dade private school (if you can call it that) that the Miami New Times has revealed as a diploma mill in its own backyard? From the reporter's first person recounting:

Eight days and $399 in cash later, at the school's Doral "campus" — a cramped third-floor office next door to US Lubricant LLC and across the hall from a hair extensions company — I was grinning widely, accepting a framed diploma and an official transcript sporting a 3.41 GPA.

The degree is accepted at, among other local institutions of higher education, Miami Dade College. And it came blissfully free of that pesky annoyance suffered by thousands of local students graduating from high school this month: education.

At InterAmerican Christian Academy, my new alma mater, to earn a diploma you need only to pass five very brief and easy take-home tests. Because I can't be bothered with such things, I distributed them to local kids ages 8 to 13 to complete. Then I copied their answers.

And to think Gov. Rick Scott just signed legislation expanding Florida students' access to private schools using public funds. Check this story out. It's worth the read.

About the blog

Gradebook features education articles and insights on schools in Florida, focusing on Tampa Bay area schools. What's the latest from the Florida Department of Education? How is the FCAT being used to compare Florida schools? What's going on in Tampa Bay schools? Get an insider's view from the Times education reporting team.